Mostly, I'm just sitting back and marvelling over the fact that no one at AP ever broached the idea of trying to protect "AJAX" – I seriously don't recall it ever being suggested, even offhand. I'm happy I work with folks who aren't that cynical about how the industry works; they're aware that there's business to be had in furthering the conversation, rather than trying to dominate or own it.

In his defense of O'Reilly, Cory Doctorow explained that Tim's company has "an amazing, wonderful gift for popularizing hard ideas and for explaining abstruse technology in catchy ways." I see what we're trying to do at AP as working towards similar ends, so on that much we're alike. The original intent behind Jesse's coining of AJAX was to help others grok not just the technology but what it meant for creating better experiences on the net.

I just shudder at the idea of how badly we would have crippled our own ability to communicate complex ideas in a straightforward manner if we'd pursued any kind of protection for AJAX (or "Ajax" for that matter). We're capitalists; we enjoy getting paid for the work we do and the ideas we come up with. But we'd prefer to do it without alienating the same people who are willing to read our essays, attend our conferences, and bring us on as consultants.

I guess I'm totally naive to think there's an obvious advantage to occassionally leaving some money on the table.

[update 5/28/06 5:45 PM] While enjoying a roasted pork sandwich at the Beach Chalet this afternoon, it occurred to me that any attempt to protect AJAX as a term would have run afoul of a very established brand with some pretty deep pockets. I do get that – but I still think the point remains: participate in the conversation without trying to manipulate it, or risk losing your voice.

I had the feeling that somebody might interpret this post as a bit of puffery – “we’d never be so stupid” and all; it was more about sorting through my own feelings on the topic, and realizing we had our own opportunity to screw things up, and didn’t.

My wife and I met while working at CMP, the media company producing the Web 2.0 events and the organization that sent the C&D. CMP is old-school (based in New York), owned by United Business Media out of London – all the new-economy sensitivity of an Enron.

1) Get the hell away from CMP asap. Throw them under the bus. Run
2) Issue a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license of Web 2.0 to the Earth
3) Name IT@Cork as a media partner for all all future Web2.o Conferences
4) Get to Cork on June 8 and keynote an apology.

note- emotional rant: naive? no way! you are who you are on the inside. not your bank account. not your ip. not even your legacy. i could have spent every moment of my life cashing in on every good idea i’ve ever had, and i would be a f-ed up stress monster.